JTCC Midlothian Phase III Blog

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Moving Dirt

So many wonder why we have been digging soil where the new academic building is going to be placed and then filling it with new soil. There are several factors that go into these decisions. One thing we have to do before we can start constructing the foundation is remove any material from beneath the building which could impact it long term. We construct buildings to last forty (40) or fifty (50) years and try to ensure that they can hold up even longer. Before to the building is designed, a geological analysis is performed by an engineering firm to see what type of material will be under the building and around the building. After analysis by the engineers and architects, it is determined how much material is required to be removed and which material is “suitable,” meaning that it will support the new structure that is being constructed.

Once we started removing the soil, we had to remove the existing reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) which was placed in the middle of the courtyard area to allow water to flow away from the existing buildings to the wetlands. Most of the near-surface material in the location of the new Academic Building pad was not suitable; therefore, it had to be removed and replaced with suitable material. Multiple factors play into determining which material is suitable, including type of material, how moist the material is, and how much rock and organics is in the material. So the material that has been placed in the new building pad footprint is suitable and the use of a nuclear density guage has given us the results for the compaction of this material.

So we are not doing twice the work, we are doing it the right the first time and building this new Academic Building on a strong foundation, just like John Tyler Community College has been built over many years.